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How Much CO2 Do You Contribute? Click here to visit our Carbon Footprint Calculator on Eco-Silicon Valley.org Before human activities began to dramatically increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from natural sources closely matched the amount that was stored or absorbed through natural processes. For example, as forests grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis; this carbon is then sequestered in wood, leaves, roots and soil. Some carbon is later released back to the atmosphere when leaves, roots and wood die and decay.Carbon dioxide also cycles through the ocean. Plankton living at the ocean's surface absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. The plankton and animals that eat the plankton then die and fall to the bottom of the ocean. As they decay, carbon dioxide is released into the water and returns to the surface via ocean currents. As a result of these natural cycles, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air had changed very little for 10,000 years. But that balance has been upset by man. Many of our daily activities, including driving, using electricity, and garbage processing use fossil fuels. These release huge qualtities of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the forests of the world can't keep up. Planting trees is great way to help reduce our carbon debt by "manually" increasing the potential for CO2 removal from our atmosphere. Click here to visit an interactive form that will help you calculate the amount of carbon dioxide that your household is responsible for releasing into the air through energy use and other activities, and let you estimate your impact on global warming. The link also lets you translates that quantity into trees. If you plant that many trees per year, you will be living no longer living indebted to CO2! After finding how many trees you need to plant to have o CO2 debt, you can donate to Our City Forest and help increase the number of trees in our city. Trees cost about $250-300 per tree in an urban environment, please give what you can. Return to Selection of Articles
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